




-y 



■^ rt^ . • • , '^■ik 



^^'' ./v i^ffi^ Z^-^^. °' 






G^ ^b *77\.T* A 






















V "^^ v^ »:H\^^/k^ >. c^"" -'^a^'. *e^ A^ 











n-iq 



1, *"* >jsvs^ • <L^ 







•-. ^^0^ i 




0^ c'-JJ'*. *o^ 




4 o 















^•^°<» 








' " ^ "' U ^ ^*£ 








'^O^ 







'oK 










.G^ "^^ ♦.-XT*' ,^ 


















•0< 






iq. 






Digitized by the Internet Archive 
in 2010 with funding from 
The Library of Congress 



http://www.archive.org/details/palisadesofhudso01mack 



^< 




Copyright, 1906, by The Century Co. 



"The Palisades" 

FROM A PAINTrNG BY VAN DEARING PERRINE, THE PAINTER OF THE 
PALISADES, OWNED BY THE WHITE HOUSE 



"Amid thy forest solitudes one climbs 
O'er crags, that proudly tower above the deep. 
And knows that sense of danger which sublimes 
The breathless moment, when his daring step 
Is on the verge of the cliff, and he can hear 
The low dash of the wave with startled ear." 

— Fitz-Greene Halleck. 



THE PALISADES 



OF 



THE HUDSON 



THEIR FORMATION, TRADITION, 
ROMANCE, HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS, 
NATURAL WONDERS AND PRESERVATION 



ARTHUR C. MACK 




PTTBLISHED BY 

THE PALISADE PRESS 

Edgewatee, New Jerset 






COPYRIGHT NOTICE. 

The title, text matter, illustrations, maps and cover 
design of this book have been duly copyrighted, accord- 
ing to law, and their unauthorized use will be vigorously 
prosecuted. 



Copyright, 1909, by The Palisade Press. 



^ . 24J521 
sip 2 1909 



CONTENTS 



Alpine 23-23 

Altitude of the Palisades 2 

Area of the Palisades Interstate Park 47, 48 

Bergen, Ancient Town of 9 

Birds of the Palisades 53 

Block House Point 10 

Burdett's Ferry 13, 14 

Burr-Hamilton Duel 10 

Bull's Ferry 1 1 

Boundaries of Palisades Interstate Park 48 

Campers Along the Palisades 48-49 

Castle Point 9 

Closter Landing 28 

Cornwallis' Headquarters 27-28 

Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park 50 

Chevaux-de-Frise 15 

Desecration of the Palisades 39 

Englewood 26-27 

Englewood Cliffs 35 

Englewood Creek 26 

Elysian Fields 10 

Fort Lee, Historic Old 15-23 

Fort Washington, Battle of 18-21 

Flowers of the Palisades 52-53 

Ferry Routes to Palisades Interstate Park 56 

Geology of the Palisades 3-5 

Gifts to the Palisades Reservation 44 

Hamilton-Burr Duel and Monument 10-11 

Half-Moon 7-9 

History, Palisades in 7 

Hudson, Henry 8 

Henry Hudson Drive 55 

Huyler's Landing 27-28 

Hoboken 9 

Indians of the Palisades 7 

Jeffrey's Hook 17, 18 

Lee, Gen. Charles 26 

Lee, Fort -. 1 3-23 

Map of Sneden's Landing 32 

Map of the Forts 15 

Path Through Palisades Interstate Park 48 

Park, Palisades Interstate 47 

Palisades, Town of 31-32 

Police Patrol of Palisades Interstate Park 49 

Roads of the Palisades 35 

Springs of the Palisades 49 

Saving the Palisades 39 

Sneden's Landing 29-33 

Sneden, Mollie 32 

Trees of the Palisades 52 

Undercliff Settlement 27 

Washington, Fort 15-23 

Washington, Gen. George 15-23 

Washington, Lady Martha 33 

Washington, Battle of Fort 18-21 

Weehawken 10 

Women's Work for the Palisades 40, 48 



WHERE CREDIT IS DUE. 

Acknowledgments are hereby made to the following 
persons for assistance in the preparation of this book: 
Charles P. Berkey, B. S. Ph. D., Instructor in Geology, 
Columbia University, New York; Winthrop S. Gillman, 
author of "The Story of the Ferry" (A History of 
Palisades and Sneden's Landing) ; Francis E. Halsey, 
late editor New York Times Saturday Book Revieio; 
Edward Hagaman Hall, Secretary American Scenic and 
Historic Preservation Society; J. Du Pratt White, Sec- 
retary, and Leonard Hull Smith, Assistant Secretary, 
Commissioners Palisades Interstate Park; J. Howard 
Wilson, Van Dearing Perrine, the painter of the Pali- 
sades; and for some of the historical facts to the works 
of Asher, Bancroft, Broadhead, Cooper, Fiske, Green, 
Irving, Lossing, O'Callaghan, Yates and Moulton, Paine, 
Schoolcraft, etc. 

Most of the photographs and initials, not credited 
specifically, were made by John P. Fritts. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 




THE PALISADES OF THE HUDSON 

"I see the beetling Palisades 

Whose wrinkled brows forever 
In calms, in storms, in lights and shades 
Keep watch along the river. 

"Such watch, of old, the Magi kept 
Along the sad Euphrates; 
Our eyeless ones have never slept 

And this their solemn fate is." — Stoddard. 




O those who have not explored the long ridge of 
towering basalt that rims the northeastern edge 
of New Jersey, and become in tune with the spirit 
of its huge gray rocks, the Palisades of the Hud- 
son remain a closed book. Travelers by the 
railway on the opposite shore, or by the river 
■ steamers, following the main channel, see only a 
nearly perpendicular wall, fringed with vegetation at its base 
and top. To them and to writers whose viewpoint is similar 
to theirs, "the great chip rocks," as the Dutch pioneers named 
them, are little more than natural curiosities of monotonous 
formation. A closer intimacy with the unspoiled portion of the 
ridge extending from Edgewater to Piermont unfolds unex- 
pected charms. 

Let him who would discover the wonders and beauties of 
these ancient cliffs paddle close to their winding base, landing 
here and there in the shady glades that tempt the river wanderer 
at frequent intervals. Near one of the cool and crystal springs 
that gush from crevices in the rocks, the explorer's tent should 
be pitched. There are a few points where the dizzy heights may 
be ascended, and a ramble through the wild woodland that sur- 
mounts the cliffs and a sight of the picturesque near and dis- 
tant views will richly reward the climber. 

As the edge of the precipice is reached, instead of a flat- 
faced wall the Palisades will be found in reality to consist of a 



The Palisades of the Hudson 




A Restful Retreat in the Wonderful Palisades Region. 



series of bold and majestic headlands, diversified by innumerable 
rocky battlements, often separated by tiny valleys down which 
dash silvery cascades. Instead of the apparently even fringe 
of verdure surmounting the heights, a wild and pristine forest 
will be found which nature has richly stocked with an endless 
variety of tree, shrub and flower. Here will the explorers who 
can read them find graven upon the stones in spite of the ravages 
of time, records of the earth's creation full of significance and 
interest. Here, too, will he who cherishes Revolutionary asso- 
ciations be able to visit localities made famous by the armies of 
Washington and Cornwallis. 

Standing between the Hudson and the broad sweep of low- 
lands now known as the Hackensack Valley, the Palisades Ridge 
proper extends almost due north and south (from Bergen Point, 
New Jersey, to Piermont, New York), for a distance of thirty 
miles. It varies in width from two miles to less than a mile, the 
average being one and one-half miles. Its altitude varies from a 
maximum of 550 feet near the northern end to the minimum of 
but a few feet at sea level at the southern termination, the mean 
elevation over most of the ridge being 269 feet. Its eastern 
face is abrupt, either vertical or slanting back slightly ; its 
western face much less steep, usually forming a gradual slope 
down to a broad and fertile valley. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



THE STORY OF THE ROCKS 




ROM geological standpoints this entire formation 
is rich in meaning. Records of great processes 
in the formation of the earth's crust can be clear- 
ly traced by even the tyro in geology. The main 
body of the ridge consists of igneous rock of 
trappean variety, which was forced up in a semi- 
molten state, through a long fissure in the earth's 
crust during what geologists term the Jurassic Period. This 
process, which scientists calculate to have occurred upwards of 
30,000,000 years ago, although similar to that which produced 
the fantastic formations of the Giant's Causeway in Ireland, 
the Cliffs of Kawaddy in India and Fingal's Cave in Scotland, 
has resulted in a configuration unlike any of those wonders and 
not resembling closely any other in the world. There are fewer 
columns than are found in other formations of the same origin 
and there is more rugged picturesqueness. 

To comprehend that vast cataclysm of nature which re- 
sulted in the upheaval of the Palisades centuries upon centuries 
ago, it is necessary to understand the character of the earth's 
crust over their area at that time. This crust consisted of a 
layer of triassic sandstone, enormously thick. Beneath this 
sandstone the volcanic forces opened a long crevice and forced 




Diagram Showing Geological Formation of the Palisades Ridge. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 





Grooves in the Palisades Rocks, Showing Glacial Action and Movement of the Ice. 



upwards the igneous formation. It must not be imagined that 
the ridge then assumed its present appearance. Indeed, the 
intrusion did not even reach the surface of the surrounding 
crust. For centuries it lay buried far beneath. It remained 
for processes working through following centuries to disclose 
the Palisades to outward view. When unexposed to outward air 
igneous rock in cooling shrinks and breaks off in sharp, perpen- 
dicular or columnar formation. This occurred along the en- 
tire Palisades Ridge. Then began the transformation which 
gave us the majestic cliffs of to-day. The deposits above and 
beside the ridge were worn away by erosion. North and south 
along the present bed of the Hudson occurred an immense 
"fault" or slip in the earth's crust. This caused the Hudson 
to flow in a veritable canyon, which recent borings opposite 
Thirty-second Street, New York, show to have been 300 feet 
deep. This gorge extended far out beyond Sandy Hook, the 
coast at that time being many miles southeastward of its present 
location. 

The next transformation of the ridge came with the huge 
ice fields of the glacial period, moving across the cliffs obliquely 
from the northwest. When the ice melted, millions of tons of 
boulders and debris borne hither by the glacial movement were 
deposited here and there along the sides and over the top of the 
ridge, forming what geologists term an intra-morianic drift. 
This crunching over the flat rocks of the top, ground well-de- 
fined grooves in the igneous rock, marking the direction from 



The Palisades of the Hudson 5 

which the ice came and leaving the imprints of its passage 
clearly discernible even to this day. The drift resulted also in 
many rocky curiosities, conspicuous among them an isolated 
block of triassic sandstone, called Sampson's Rock, perched 
upon the flat trap directly east of Englewood. This huge 
boulder, measuring nearly twelve feet in diameter and weighing 
many tons, was lifted 160 feet up the western slope of the ridge 
by the ice (it is calculated), and finally dropped in its present 
resting place. Its under surface still retains the polish it re- 
ceived through the attrition of that movement. Many other 
isolated boulders stand in the woods, grim reminders of the ice 
age. Others passed over the cliffs, breaking off segments of the 
eastern crest, and filling up the ends of ravines. The deep 
gorge north of Hoboken and other depressions were choked in 
this way and extended originally much farther northward than 
at present. 

It is known that, with the melting of the glacial masses, 
water surrounded the ridge to a depth of about 200 feet. The 
higher portion of the Palisades thus formed a long, rocky 
island. When this sea subsided, the Hudson began filling up 
its gorge with silt. This process is still going on, so that the 
present depth of the stream is comparatively shallow and geol- 
ogists term it a "drowned river." 

Until recently the theory was advanced by some authorities 
that the main channel of the Hudson in pre-glacial times de- 
flected at Piermont, flowed through the Piermont valley and 
down the western side of the Palisades, joining the ocean by way 
of Newark Bay. Recent comparison of the depth of the Pier- 
mont Valley with the depth of the Hudson's original bed oppo- 
site this point completely disproves this belief. 

The Palisades rock is dark gray and blue-black in color, 
exceedingly hard and heavy. It is remarkably impervious to 
the action of the elements. Under the microscope it discloses 
myriads of geometrical crystals, the feldspars, pyroxine, and 
magnetite predominating. Chemically the rock consists of 
50 per cent, to 60 per cent, silica. It is estimated the ridge has 
a perpendicular thickness of 800 feet at Fort Lee Bluffs and 
1,000 feet at Alpine. 




Photograph by Brown Bros. 
A Palisades Promontory Standing Boldly Forth Like a Sentinel Guarding His Treasure. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



THE PALISADES IN HISTORY 




iHROUGHOUT their course the Palisades are rich 
in historical associations of either local or Na- 
tional interest and importance. 

Of the pre-historic dwellers upon the ridge 
we have no trace, but of the Indians and the first 
white men to visit them there are clear records. 
The Sanhikan, Hackensack, Raritan and Tappan 
Indians, belonging to the great Delaware Nation, found here 
excellent hunting, fishing and dwelling places. Those whose 
wigwams nestled under the Palisades cliffs looked southward 
through the blue haze that hung over the Hudson on the after- 
noon of September 12th, 1609, and beheld a strange vessel in 
the river. Slowly she drifted in upon the flood tide, a thing of 
wonder to the savages. Squaws and braves gazed in silent 
amazement upon the ship of the white man. From her lofty 
deck a sturdy Englishman scanned for the first time the bold 
rocks of the Palisades, and the green, wooded island opposite, 
daring to hope he had found the long-sought gateway to the 
Northeast Passage, wondering 
whether the dream of his life was 
about to be realized. 

There was little or no wind on 
the river that day, and the last rays 
of the setting sun, sinking behind the 
Palisades, left the "Half-Moon" 
abreast of Indian Head, the highest 
elevation of the ridge, and almost di- 
rectly opposite the present village of 
Hastings. Here was lowered the first 
anchor in the waters of the Ma-hi- 
can-ittuck River, as the local In- 
dians called the Hudson. Peace- 
fully the little ship rested that 
night under the shelter of Wee-awk- 
e n , "rocks that look like trees" a jutting Headland. 




8 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



as the Indians termed the PaHsades. At daybreak tiny columns 
of blue smoke arose from the camps of the Red Men. Scores 
of black eyes peered riverward from behind the thick forest. 
Canoes made of "single hollowed trees" began to glide out from 
the bank. 



TEST OF NEW WORLD HOSPITALITY. 

"This morning," wrote Master Robert Juet, who kept 
Hudson's journal, "at our first rode in the river there came 
eight and twentie canoes full of men, women and children to be- 
tray us, but we saw their intent and suffered none of them to 
come aboard of us." 

Juet was evidently mistaken in his first impression of the 
visitors' intentions for he goes on to add : "They brought with 
them oysters and beans whereof we bought some. They have 
great tobacco pipes of yellow copper and pots of earth to dresse 
their meate in." 

In this connection it may be of interest to the present gen- 
eration to remark here that for nearly two centuries after this 
historic transaction, the river flats bordering the Palisades pro- 
duced the largest and most delicious oysters found near New 
York. 

Later in that September 
day, the breeze freshening 
from the southeast, the 
"Half Moon" weighed an- 
chor, and passing the north- 
ern end of the Palisades stood 
out across the broad waters 
of the Tappan Zee. Henry 
Hudson little imagined how 
soon fate would bring him 
again to these waters. On 
the 2nd day of October the 
"Half Moon," sailing south- 
ward after a futile search for 
the Northeast Passage, was 
attacked by the Indians near 
what is now Fort Washing- 
ton Point. Her commander, 
after dispersing the warriors 

of "Manna-hata" with a fal- a Palisades Brook in Winter. 




The Palisades of the Hudson 9 

con shot, sought the shelter of the great rocks on the western 
shore, and the protection of the Sanhikans, "deadly enemies of 
the Manhattans and a much superior people." All of the next 
day the vessel lay at anchor in the cove north of what is now 
Castle Point, Hoboken. From her decks Hudson pointed out 
a huge rock upon the Palisades of "white-green" hue, which he 
took for silver ore, but his ship sailed away without giving him 
an opportunity for discovering his error. This peculiar rock, 
long a point of interest, has been since obliterated by dynamite. 

THE WHITE man's ONWARD MARCH. 

As the years passed on the ship of the white man became 
less and less a curiosity to the Indians of the Palisades. Dutch 
farmhouses replaced leathern tents, and settlements clustered on 
both sides of the ridge. Many of these original homesteads 
still stand, thick of wall, huge of beam, their broad gambrel 
roofs and quaint gables still forming picturesque monuments of 
those pioneer days. 

Peace rewarded the early settlers for over a century save 
for occasional outbreaks from hostile Indians. Then came the 
dark daj'^s of the Revolution. The shades and glades of the 
Palisades became the scenes of war. From one of their rocky 
promontories the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army 
saw his force defeated in one of the most tragic hours of his 
career. Up their precipitous sides two of England's great 
generals took their armies. 

The ancient town of Bergen was located on the southern 
end of the ridge upon the present site of Jersey City Heights. 
It was laid out in 1660 by Jacques Cortelyou, a surveyor of 
Manhattan, under direction of Governor Peter Stuyvesant. Im- 
portant fortifications were maintained here during the Revolu- 
tion. On October 5, 1776, the Americans abandoned the Ber- 
gen defenses and the British occupied and held them until the 
close of the war. 

On the present site of Hoboken was an Indian village called 
"Hobock." At Hoboken, Castle Point projects into the river. 
Here the original Stevens' homestead stood, built by John 
Stevens, member of the Continental Congress, inventor of the 
screw propeller and associate of Robert Fulton. The present 
house, or "castle," a conspicuous landmark, was built in 1835 
and is still occupied by members of the Stevens family. 



10 



The Palisades of the Hudson 




SOME TRAGEDIES OF THE PALISADES. 

Just above Hoboken were the Elysian Fields, New York's 
great play-ground three-score 
years ago. Here was committed 
the murder of the beautiful Mary 
Rogers, upon which Edgar Allan 
Poe based his famous story "The 
Murder of Marie Roget." 

In the year 1804 the natural 
beauties of Weehawken had not 
been despoiled by the upward 
march of population, and Fitz 
Greene Halleck, who loved to 
walk down to this spot from a 
friend's home at Fort Lee, where 
he was a frequent visitor, wrote: 

Hamilton Monument at Weehawken. 

"Weehawken ! In thy mountain scenery yet 
All we adore of Nature and her wild 
And frolic hour of infancy is met." 

Here upon a grassy shelf of the Palisades there met on the 
morning of July 11th, 1804, two of the most prominent men 
in American history — Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. 
In this secluded retreat, a favorite dueling ground, the two 
men raised their pistols and here Hamilton fell mortally wound- 
ed. When the seconds picked up the stricken man they rested 
his head against a sandstone boulder. A monument was after- 
ward erected on this spot, but it was almost entirely chipped 
away by relic hunters, and the remnants were finally removed. 
A railway now obliterates this historic place, but the boulder 
upon which the statesman's head rested, has been taken to the 
top of the cliff, surmounted with a bronze bust and provided 
with a memorial tablet. It is interesting to note that one of 
Hamilton's own sons fell in a duel at the same place prior to 
his father's death. 



THE OLD BLOCK HOUSE POINT. 

At a point almost directly opposite Seventy-second Street, 
New York, is Block House Point, scene of one of the lighter 
events of the Revolution. 

In 1780 the British had fortified a block house here for the 
protection of a large herd of cattle and other supplies. "Light 



2%e Palisades of the Hudson 



11 



Horse" Harry Lee and General Anthony Wayne were de- 
spatched from the north to capture these necessities. Their 
force was insignificant in numbers, but rich in bravery. There 
was a sharp attack, a stiff defense, and a somewhat hasty re- 
treat, the incident prompting Andre's satirical poem, "The Cow 
Chase," among the many cantos of which may be quoted these 
typical lines : 

"Sublime upon his stirrups rose 
The mighty Lee behind, 
And drove the terror-smitten cows 
Like chaff before the wind." 

On the river bank a short distance north of Block House 
Point is Bull's Ferry, called after a family named Bull. This 
was an important landing place during the Revolution. 







A Winter's Twilight Along the Palisades. 




Drawn by E. Hagamau Hall, L.H.D , for the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society. 



A LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE, N. J. 
(See key at foot of opposite page.) 



The Palisades of the Hudson IS 




HISTORIC OLD FORT LEE 

^E come now to the Fort Lee region of the Palisades, 
which played an important part in the Revolu- 
tion. Long before the outbreak of the great 
struggle Etienne Burdett, a Manhattan merchant 
of Huguenot parentage, built his home in a forest 
clearing at the foot of the gorge Intersecting the 
Palisades below Fort Lee Bluff. The precise site 
of his house was directly east of the River Road, Edgewater, at a 
point where it turns sharply at the base of the Fort Lee Hill. 
Etienne's holdings included several hundred acres of the adja- 
cent country. The Hackensack turnpike wound down the valley 
to a landing almost opposite the Burdett home, known as Bur- 
dett's Ferry. Periougas, the small sailing vessels then much 
in use, carried passengers and freight from here to Blooming- 
dale, on the Manhattan shore. During the Revolution Bur- 
dett's Ferry offered the only communication between Forts 
Washington and Lee. Troops, ammunition and supplies were 
brought and sent from here, Etienne Burdett's brother, Peter, 
having at that time inherited the place. Peter ■vfas an ardent 
patriot and the present T. Fletcher Burdett, a resident of Fort 
Lee, is proud to narrate how his great grandmother, who was 
Peter's wife, cooked flapjacks for General Washington and other 



KEY TO LANDMARK MAP OF FORT LEE 

Reference: 1. Site of the Redoubt which commanded the sunken obstructions between 
Fort Lee and Fort Washington. 2. Site oi the abattis enclosing the worlcs on Bluff 
Point. 2 and 3. Site of works on Bluff Point. 4. Site of the main fortification of Fort 
Lee. 5. House here stands on site of old butcher shop. Just south of house a few 
years ago, there was about twenty-five feet of the embankment of the fort. 6. Here 
George Beucler dug up a dozen cannon balls. 7. George Hook dug up nine bullets in a 
cluster in June, 1901. 8. C. W. Dubois dug up bullets and bullet moulds when he exca- 
vated a cellar and well about 1898. 9. JVlrs. JVlary Federspiel dug up part of exploded 
shell. 10. iVlrs. Federspiel dug up cannon ball in 1861. 11. James Sullivan dug up thres 
■cannon balls in 1885. 12. Site of army oven. 13. Washington's well. 14. Michael Tier- 
ney dug up three cannon balls in 1875. 15. Site of old pine tree which sheltered the 
platform for the celebration July 4, 1873. The late James F. Tracey said that four or 
five soldiers' graves were once pointed out to him in that vicinity. 16. Site of old pond, 
Icnown as Parker's Pond Lot. The Fort Lee Monument was erected here in 1908. 17. 
When Hook's Ice Pond was widened in 1898, the workmen dug up along the east sid; 
quantities of lead, bullets, bullet moulds, cannon balls, a sabre, bayonets, bombshells, 
shoebuckles, a saddle pommel and stirrups, shovels, a pickaxe and other tools. 18. On 
west side of Ice Pond, there were formerly heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces 
of the soldiers' huts. Here in 1875-6, George Hook dug up bars of lead, bullet moulds, 
cannon balls, bayonets, etc. In the remains of a camp fire he found guns with their 
stocks burned. 19. Traces of breastworks visible as late as 1901. They probably ex- 
tended north of Whiteman Street. 20. Heaps of stone, the remains of the fireplaces in the 
.soldiers' huts, some still recognizable. 



14 



The Palisades of the Hudson 




of the Continental officers. 
The original Burdett home- 
stead, a picturesque gambrel- 
roofed structure, was stand- 
ing up to a decade ago. 

Burdett's Ferry has the 
distinction of having two 
miniature engagements of its 
own. Early on the morning 
of August 18, 1776, the 
British ships Phoenix and 
Rose, which had previously 
passed up the river, stood 
down stream. When abreast 
of the ferry the Rose was 
hulled by a shot from Gen- 
eral Mercer's Battery locat- 
ed there, firing grape shot in 
return. Again on October 
27, at seven o'clock in the 
morning, two British frigates moved up the river and anchored 
off Burdett's Ferry, apparently to cut off communication be- 
tween the forts. The barbette battery on Fort Lee Bluff opened 
fire and two 18-pounders brought down to the ferry landing 
from Fort Lee and planted opposite the ships repeatedly hulled 
and partially disabled one of the vessels (Irving). "Had the 
tide been flood one-half hour longer," wrote General Greene, 
"we should have sunk her." 



A Rocky Chaos on the Surnmit. 



THE DARK DAYS OF '76. 

In order to appreciate the dramatic events that occurred in 
and about Fort Lee while the struggle for Independence was at 
its height, it is necessary to bear in mind the status of the oppos- 
ing forces in early November, 1776. The Colonial cause was in 
a critical condition. 

Forced to retire from Long Island and Westchester, and 
driven northward from southern Manhattan Island, that portion 
of the Continental forces east of the Hudson now found itself 
on the heights between the Harlem and the Hudson, hemmed in 
on all sides by the great army of Sir William Howe The 
troops were battered, ragged and discouraged, and discontent 
had begun to develop in their ranks. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



15 



THE KEY TO THE HUDSON 




t' ONGRESS had already instructed Washington to 
"by every art and whatever expense obstruct ef- 
fectually the navigation between Fort Washing- 
ton (on the east bank of the river) and Mount 
Constitution (on the Palisades whereon Fort Lee 
stood) as well to prevent the enemy's frigates 
lately gone up, as to hinder them from receiving 
succor." In accordance with these plans General Nathaniel 
Greene had fortified the two defenses that thus held the key to 
the Hudson Valley, Fort Washington and Fort Lee. Colonel 
Rufus Putnam had constructed an elaborate chevaux-de-frise, 
across the river between the forts. This obstruction consisted 
of two sunken sloops, two sunken brigs, two large ships mounted 
with heavy guns and swivels, "two hundred iron fraise of 400 
weight each," besides sundry logs and other impedimenta. 

Fort Lee must be connected inseparably with its sister for- 
tification, Fort Washington 
on the opposite shore. In- 
deed, as Greene wrote Wash- 
ington, "it was of no conse- 
quence except in conjunction 
with Fort Washington." 
Fort Lee was constructed by 
General Hugh Mercer and 
was originally called Fort 
Constitution, but on October 
18, 1776, was rechristened in 
honor of General Charles Lee. 
Its main works were lo- 
cated on the crest of a precipitous bluff of the Palisades, 250 
feet above the river, on the left-hand side of the present road 
that ascends to the little village named in honor of the fort. 
Immediately below the fort is the deep gorge through which this 
road winds and a stream named Dead Brook. To the northeast 
on Fort Lee Bluff, directly overlooking the river, there were 
constructed outworks for the purpose of guarding the river 
and commanding the chevaux-de-frise. 







Diagram of Forts Lee and Washington. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



17 



MILITARY VALUE OF FORT LEE. 

The strategic value of Fort Lee lay in its ability to bom- 
bard any hostile fleet in the river beneath, and to supply re- 
inforcements to the opposite shore. Fort Washington lay on 
the heights of Manhattan Island almost directly opposite, with 
long outworks running down to Jeffrey's Hook, as Fort Wash- 
ington Point was then named. 

With his keen foresight Washington saw the futility of en- 
deavoring to hold the fortification named in his honor, writing 
Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey : "That they will 
invest Fort Washington is a matter of which there can be no 
doubt." The Americans holding Fort Washington were out- 
numbered by the enemy almost three 
to one. General Charles Lee had in- 
solently disregarded the Commander's 
orders to bring the 7,000 men under 
him at North Castle to reinforce the 
forts. Colonel Putnam's elaborate 
obstruction had been proved vulner- 
able, for on the morning of October 
9th the British men-of-war Roebuck, 
Phoenix and Tartar, with all sail set 
to a fresh south wind, got under way 
from their anchorage in the lower 
river, and swept through the obstruc- 
tions in gallant style, notwithstand- 
ing bombardment from the two shore 
defenses. Later, on the night of 
November 14th, a fleet of the enemy's 
flat boats passed In spite of the 
obstructions, and proceeded into the Harlem River. 

The Commander-in-Chief, therefore, ordered General 
Greene to evacuate Fort Washington, and withdraw from Fort 
Lee. The orders were of a somewhat discretionary nature, how- 
ever. Greene and Putnam were both sanguine of their ability 
to hold the forts successfully and decided to remain. Congress, 
then sitting at Fishkill, and fearful of an invasion of the Hud- 
son Valley, further complicated matters by transmitting in- 
structions not to evacuate the forts except in case of "direst 
necessity-" 




Picturesque Foreground of Dense 
Foliage and High Rocks. 



18 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



WASHINGTON AT FORT LEE. 




The Ice Floes' Silent Course. 



On the 13th of November Washington, anxious concerning 
the forts, arrived at Fort Lee from Stony Point, traveling by 
the road that follows the 
western slope of the Pali- 
sades. Here he found Greene 
reinforcing Fort Washing- 
ton. After a brief visit the 
Commander left for the 
headquarters at Hackensack. 

Stirring events now fol- 
lowed in rapid succession. On 
the 15th Colonel Robert Ma- 
g a w , commanding Fort I 
Washington, received an im- 
perative order to surrender 
from General Howe. The 
order threatened severe 
measures should it be refused. In ringing terms Magaw threw 
down the gauntlet in his stirring message containing the memo- 
rable words, "actuated by the most glorious cause that mankind 
ever fought in, I am determined to hold this fort until the last 
extremity." At four o'clock in the afternoon of the same day 
Greene sent a hurried message requesting the presence of Wash- 
ington at Fort Lee. The General galloped over the Hacken- 
sack turnpike and reached the fort at nine o'clock in the even- 
ing. Greene had already crossed the river. Down the gorge 
road Washington hurried, and, boarding a boat, was rowed 
across toward Jeffrey's Hook. When half-way across, as 
Washington himself puts it in his journal, "I met Generals Put- 
nam and Greene, who were just returning from thence (Fort 
Washington) and they informed me that the troops were in 
high spirits and would make a good defense, and it being late 
at night, I returned." That night Washington slept at the 
Burdett house, of which we have already heard. 



THE FAIiL OF THE FORTS. 



Early on the next day, after the morning mists had cleared 
away, the boom of cannon and crack of musketry announced the 
opening of hostilities. From the lofty eminence of Fort Lee 
the entire scene of battle was visible. Beneath the anxious 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



19 




A Wind-Swept Crag. 



watchers at that point, flowed 
the Hudson, the foreground 
of a vast panorama stretch- 
ing far to the north among 
the Westchester hills, to the 
blue hills of Long Island be- 
yond the Sound and to the 
south as far as Staten Island. 
Across on the heights 
of the opposite island these 
watchers could now clearly 
see the beginning of the 
greatest battle ever fought 
upon Manhattan Island; a 
battle in which love, patriotism, daring and even treason, were 
all strangely intermixed. Brave Robert Magaw, with scarce 
3,000 men, faced over 8,900 British pressing him on three sides 
and with the man-of-war Pearl threatening his riverward earth- 
works. 

Through the woods from the north came the first column 
under Von Knyphausen, 3,000 strong; from the south charged 
two brigades under Percy together with Maxwell's forces, over 
5,000 men all told ; from the east moved Sterling with over 900 
men in line. It was a bewildering attack for the little garrison 
to meet. 

Nearer and nearer came the crack of the muskets. Again 
and again an opening was made in the defenses. Again and 
again it was resolutely closed. The little force of Americans 
fought shoulder to shoulder, as men only fight when desperately 
pressed. For an hour and a half Cadwallader's 800 Pennsyl- 
vanians held back 5,000 British. Among these 800 stood Cor- 
bin, a Pennsylvania gunner. Behind him crouched his wife, 
Margaret. A shot mortally wounded him. His wife instantly 
took his place at the gun and fired it steadily till a grape-shot 
prostrated her. She was the first woman to fight in the cause of 
American liberty, and the first woman to receive a pension from 
the Government in recognition of her services. 

WASHINGTON VIEWS THE DISASTER. 

While the din was at its height a silent and Impressive 
scene was being enacted at Fort Lee on the opposite side of the 
river. Upon the crest of the Palisades stood Washington and 
his officers gravely watching the tide of battle. As the attack- 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



21 



Ing columns worked nearer and nearer to the defenders a look 
of anguish overspread the Commander's strong face. Taking 
paper and pencil he hastily wrote a message to Magaw. Wash- 
ington had already seen that the defense was hopeless, but he 
believed that the little army might still be rescued. He im- 
plored Magaw to hold on till night when a rescuing force from 
Fort Lee would attempt to bring his men across the river. 

Captain Gooch, of Boston, took the message from the Gen- 
eral's hand, and dashed down to the river bank with it. Here he 
leaped into a boat and rowed across to Jeffrey's Hook. He 
landed, leaped up the rocky bank, rushed into the fort and in 
person handed the message to Magaw. Then the messenger ran 
out from the fort, reached his boat and rowed across to the 
western shore, which he regained in safety. 

Washington's urgent instructions reached Magaw too late. 
He had found his position untenable before they had reached 
his hands. He had fought a battle against odds of three to one, 
but he had a still more serious handicap, William Demont, one 
of his own adjutants, the first traitor in the American Army, 
having supplied the enemy with the complete plans of Fort 
Washington. 

In despair the Commander-in-Chief watched the last act in 
the tragedy being enacted before his ej^es. Finally the firing 
ceased, and he saw the white flag flutter from the flagpole of 
Fort Washington. He dropped his field glass, and in the agony 
of his soul "wept with the tenderness of a child." But in this, 
the hour of grief and discouragement, Washington never lost 
sight of the immediate danger to the force about him. He saw 
that further holding of Fort 
Lee was hopeless, that at any 
hour the British might cross 
and capture it. 

The British losses were 
500, the American losses 150. 
The British captured 3,000 
men, besides valuable stores 
and ammunition. 

"The fall of Fort Wash- 
ington," sa3'-s Fiske, "was the 
greatest disaster of the war, 
and came within an ace of 
overwhelming the American 
cause in irretrievable ruin." Along an Ancient Road. 




22 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



GENERAL GREENE S HASTY FLIGHT. 

The evacuation of Fort Lee, which now followed, was ac- 
complished with desperate haste. "Greene took flight," says 
Bancroft, "leaA'ing blankets and baggage, except what his few 
wagons could bear away, more than three months' provisions for 
3,000 men, camp kettles on the fires, above 400 tents standing 
and all his cannon except two twelve-pounders." An interesting 
account of the evacuation Avas written by Thomas Paine, the 
celebrated author, who as aide-de-camp to Greene, was an eye- 
witness. He says: 

"As I was with the troops at Fort Lee, and marched with 
them to the edge of Pennsylvania, I am well acquainted with 
many circumstances which those who lived at a distance knew 
little of. Our situation there was exceedingly cramped, the 
place being on a narrow neck of land, between the Hackensack 




Where Grim Winter Rules in Solitary Grandeur. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 23 

and North Rivers. Our force was inconsiderable, being not one- 
fourth as great as Howe could bring against us. We had no 
army at hand to have relieved the garrison, had we shut ourselves 
up and stood on the defense. Our ammunition, light artillery 
and the best part of our stores had been removed upon the ap- 
prehension that Howe would endeavor to penetrate the Jerseys, 
in which case Fort Lee could be of no use to us. * * * 
Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morn- 
ing of the 20th of November, when an officer arrived with in- 
formation that the enemy with 200 boats had landed seven or 
eight miles above. Major-General Greene, who commanded the 
garrison, immediately ordered them under arms, and sent an ex- 
press to his Excellency, General Washington, at Hackensack, 
distant six miles. Our first object was to secure the bridge 
across the Hackensack. General Washington arrived in about 
three-quarters of an hour and marched at the head of his troops. 
* « « "\Yg brought off as much baggage as the wagons 
could contain. The rest was lost. * * * The simple ob- 
ject was to bring off the garrison and march them on till they 
could be strengthened by the Pennsylvania or Jersey militia." 

The Palisades Fort was soon to fall into the hands of the 
British. On the evening of November 19th Lord Cornwallis 
crossed the Hudson from the east bank with a force of 6,000 
men, including the first and second battalions of light infantry ; 
two companies of chasseurs, two battalions of guards and the 
83rd and 42nd regiments of the line. This formidable army 
was landed at Closter Landing, now known as Alpine. The dif- 
ficult task of getting men and arms up to the crest of the Pali- 
sades over the rough and steep road was at once begun. On 
the following morning the British army and its gear of war 
had gained the crest, and after a two hours' march, it was se- 
curely ensconced within the works of Fort Lee. 

Two years after Cornwallis had taken his men up the road 
from Closter Landing (Alpine) General Earl Grey, of Lord 
Howe's Army, disembarked his forces at the same point and 
marched across to Hackensack, where he fell upon Colonel Bay- 
lor's patriots. 

The key to the Hudson was thus completely in the hands of 
the British, but it did not prove so valuable from a strategic 
point of view as had been supposed. 




The Sloping Crest of the Palisades. 



Photograph by John P. Fritts. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



25 




Ruins of the Old Mountain House at Englewood Cliffs. 

MARKING HISTORIC LOCALITIES 




HE remains of Fort Washington can still be seen, 
and on the 125th anniversary of the battle, Oc- 
tober 16, 1901, a bronze tablet was placed on the 
site by the American Scenic and Historic Preser- 
vation Society, 

Until 1908 no monument or tablet marked 
the site of Fort Lee. On September 26 of that 
year, however, through the efforts of the Fort Lee Revolutionary 
Monument Association, the Palisades Interstate Park Commis- 
sion, acting as custodians of the funds, an appropriate monu- 
ment was erected. This monument is the work of Carl E. 
Tefft, whose design was 
selected in a competitive con- 
test. The base of the mon- 
ument consists of an im- 
mense boulder of Palisade 
rock, climbing up one side of 
'which heroic bronze figures 
of two Continental soldiers 
are represented. The artist's 
and sculptor's idea is to show 
the soldiers scaling the crest 
of the Palisades. 

Few traces of the de- 
fenses themselves now remain. 
Traces of the south bastion 
of the fort west of the quaint 
little stone Episcopal Church 
may still be seen, also the 
soldiers' ovens cut out of the rock. Almost opposite the church 
is the "Washington Spring," which supplied water to the 
troops. All traces of the redoubt on Fort Lee Bluff have now 




Revolutionary Monument at Fort Lee. 



26 The Palisades of the Hudson 

disappeared, although J. Fletcher Burdett, of Fort Lee, told 
the writer that a few years ago, in constructing a building there, 
the stone wall thrown up by the Continental soldiers was clearly 
disclosed. 

A TUAITOU'S NAME PERPETUATED. 

It is unfortunate that the name of the Palisades fort was 
changed from Fort Constitution to Fort Lee. It now perpetu- 
ates the memory of one whose disloyalty and treachery to the 
American cause were manifested on many occasions. The career 
of Charles Lee was repugnant alike to the Continental and Brit- 
ish armies. We have seen his supreme disregard of Washing- 
ton's orders. After tardily bringing his forces across the 
Hudson, he was captured by the British and taken to New York 
for confinement. He immediately set about to purchase his 
liberty by treachery. In prison he elaborated a plan to his 
captors for conquering the American Army. But his perfidy 
was not well received by Sir William Howe. Instructions were 
received from the King to send Lee to England for trial. 
Washington held six Hessian officers as hostages for Lee's 
safety, however, and Howe fearing to send his prisoner 
home, in May, 1778, exchanged him for Major General Pres- 
cott. Lee was reappointed to Second in Command, but further 
treachery at Monmouth and subsequent disloyalty led to his per- 
manent dismissal from the army. His later days were given 
to venomous attacks upon Washington. Finally, despised by 
all decent men, he died in a public house at Philadelphia, his re- 
mains being interred in Christ Church Cemetery. 

A few miles above Fort Lee Bluff a white edifice surmounts 
the cliffs. This is St. Michael's Villa, a prominent Roman 
Catholic Convent. Just beyond this point are the remains of 
the old Englewood 
pier, long since dis- 
used. North of the 
pier Englewood 
Creek winds through 
a narrow meadow of 
salt grass to the base 
of the Palisades. To 
the north of St. 
Michael's are the 
vine-covered ruins of 

the Palisades Moun- Old Undercliff Settlement. 




The Palisades of the Hudson 



27 



tain House, burned in 1884*. Opposite here, on the western 
slope of the Palisades, lies the city of Englewood. The little set- 
tlement from which the present city had its origin was called 
Liberty Pole. During the 
Revolution it stood in the 
thick of military activities. 

A PICTURESQUE HAMLET. 

A mile north of the 
old Englewood pier a pic- 
turesque hamlet of scarce 
half a dozen houses nestles 
under the brow of the 
great rocks. This is known 
as UnderclilF Settlement. 

F. . J , • Old Burying Ground at Undercliff Settlement. 

o r generations, datmg 

back to Revolutionary days, members of the Van Wagoner fam- 
ily have dwelt here. In two of the houses still live venerable 
members of this family. Back of the settlement from a tangled 
undergrowth rise the headstones of an ancient burying ground. 
Here lie the remains of the Van Wagoners, all the gravestones 
bearing dates at the beginning of the nineteenth century. 

Easily distinguishable from the river by its two long, white 
houses is Huyler's Landing, a short distance north of this ham- 
let. Its former name was Lower Closter Landing. The two 
houses, with a tiny cottage almost hidden behind the trees, are of 





The Cornwallis Headquarters at Alpine. This House, Which Is Over 150 Years Old, Is 
Being Carefully Preserved by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 



28:. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



great age. An old road, now dis- 
used, winds down from the cliffs. 
Decades ago Huyler's Landing was 
a shipping point for the back coun- 
try. 

Directly opposite the city of 
Yonkers is Alpine Landing, which in 
Revolutionary days was called Clos- 
ter Landing. We have already seen 
its historical importance as the point 
at wliich Lord Cornwallis, and later. 
General Earl Grey, landed their re- 
spective forces. Among all the an- 
cient houses of the Palisades still pre- 
served none is more interesting than 
one which stands here. It was built 
over 150 years ago of Palisade stone 
and timber rough hewn from the 
Palisades forest. In this house Lord 
Cornwallis made his headquarters. Just to the south is the 
beginning of the old road up which the British armies made 
their laborious ways. Its remains may be traced clearly through 
the woods. Until a few years ago an old brick grist mill was 
still standing at the landing. Here the farmers of the western 
valley were wont to bring their grain and obtain provisions 
brought hither by the river packets. Almost in front of the 
Cornwallis house rests a gigantic boulder which came crashing 
down the face of the Palisades only a decade ago. It narrowly 
missed striking and annihilating the old structure. 

From Alpine Landing to Sneden's Landing, a distance of 
five miles, the Palisades assume their most imposing formation. 
Opposite Hastings the cliffs rise almost perpendicularly from 
the water, presenting a sheer face of rock 550 feet in height. 
This is the highest portion of the ridge. 




Remains of Old Military Road 
at Alpine. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



29 




Revolutionary Pistol Found in Old Block House at Sneden's Landing. 



STORY OF SNEDEN'S LANDING 




NEDEN'S LANDING is rich In Its historical as- 
sociations. In this quaint little settlement cen- 
tered some of the most spirited minor events of 
the Revolution. Directly In front of it, on the 
noble river whose waves wash its ancient dock, 
was stationed the British fleet during the period 
from 1776 to 1783; and It was here that, by 
direct order of Parliament, the American flag was first saluted 
by the English navy. 

During the Revolution Sneden's Landing was known simply 
as "Dobb's Ferry on the west side of the Hudson." The old 
house at the landing, where lived the intrepid ferry mistress, 
"MoUie" Sneden, Is a landmark to- 
day for patriotic Americans to visit 
and enjoy. In Revolutionary days 
it was known far and wide as "Sneed- 
ing's old house at the Fferry." As 
far back as the year 1719, according 
to historical records. It was known as 
"Corbet's old house," and It was here 
that James Alexander took observa- 
tions for the establishment of the 
point where the 41st degree of longi- 
tude crosses the Hudson River, 
marking the boundary line between 
New York and New Jersey. 

On the sharply rising ground 
above the landing are the ruins of the 
old redoubts. Here were posted 500 
Continental troops under Maj or John At oid Huyier's Landing. 




The Palisades of the Hudson 



31 




Photograph by W. S. Gillman. 

Grave of Mollie Sneden at Palisades, N. Y. 



Clark, immediately after the 
battle of White Plains, in 
November, 1776. The Amer- 
i c a n commanders believed 
that it was Lord Howe's in- 
tention to invade the state of 
New Jersey by way of Sne- 
den's Landing and Major 
Clark was ordered to dispute 
the British general's passage. 
The Continental officer was 
not compelled to fight the 
British at Sneden's Landing, 
however, as the invading 
army under Lord Comwallis 
crossed over at Alpine, five 
miles below. 

There are many other points of historical interest at 
Sneden's Landing. Nearby, on the Closter Road, stands the 
Nagle, or Naugle, homestead built about 1710, where in Revo- 
lutionary days lived John D. Nagle, "the honest miller." The 
old Nagle grist mill was a landmark for many years, but was 
finally torn down. After the execution of the British spy. 
Major Andre, at Tappan, a few miles away, the unfortunate 
officer's effects were brought to the Nagle house. 

On the hill above the redoubts stood the old Block House 
built in 1776, a conspicuous mark for the British ships. The 
tops of two large cedar trees, which stood near the Block House, 
were blown off under the bombardment of the British frigate 
Asia in 1776. Ruins of the' 
old defense may be still seen 
in the woods surrounding its 
site. In these ruins more 
than a century ago was 
found an old Revolutionary 
pistol, now in possession of 
the Mann family. Between 
the Block House and the 
redoubt is located the Wash- 
ington Spring, where, tradi- 

.. 1 ', nr ' /-Ml J A Glimpse of the Italian Garden on the 

T;i0n has it, Major Clark and Lawrence Estate. 




32 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



his men obtained their water. In the little hamlet of Palisades^ 
just on top of the hill west of Sneden's Landing, stands one of 
the oldest structures in America, antedating by nearly a cen- 
tury the Revolution. It is known as "the Big House." The 
foundation of its kitchen is said to date back to 1685. In this 
house General Washington is said to have sat at table. At 
present an extensive circulating library is maintained there. 

Nearby is located the old Palisades Cemetery. Here lie the 
remains of man}^ old settlers, among them, those of Mollie 
Sneden, the ferry mistress of the Revolution. 










"t V/ 












■ ^/ 



r>/' 



Alap of the Lockhart Tract at Sneden's Landing Made in 1746. The Original of This Map 
Is Now in Possession of the Palisades Library at Palisades, New York, 



The Palisades of the Hudson 33 

Sneden's Landing played its part in the mournful Revolu- 
tionary episode of 1778 when Colonel George Baylor and more 
than a hundred of his troops were slaughtered while asleep by the 
British General Grey at Paramus, a few miles west. Coincident 
with Grey's attack upon the defenseless Continentals Lieutenant 
Colonel Campbell crossed to Sneden's Landing and moved west 
to surprise General Wayne at Tappan. But the wily American 
officer had been warned and with his force, inferior in numbers 
only, had retreated northward to safety. 

It is said that Lady Martha Washington, In journeying to 
join her husband at Cambridge, in the autumn of 1775, crossed 
the ferry at Sneden's Landing. 

Just south of the landing, upon a plateau, is "ClifFside," 
the magnificent estate of Mrs. Lydia G. Lawrence. Of all the 
imposing homes of the Hudson Valley few command a grander 
view than this, overlooking the broad expanse of the Tappan Zee, 
and the lower river. A woodland path leads southward from the 
house to a pergola standing on the river's edge, modeled after 
a similar structure at Amalfi, Italy. Behind this pergola a 
cascade falls down the perpendicular side of the Palisades into a 
beautiful grotto with pools, fountains and statuary. The owner 
of "ClifFside" has recently given a large and valuable tract of 
her estate to the Palisades Interstate Park Commission. 

In the old days Sneden's Landing was an important ship- 
building point, many vessels being constructed here. Only 
twenty-five years after the launching of Fulton's Clermont, 
the steam ferryboat Union was built and put in operation at 
the landing. The only ferry at present is a motor boat accom- 
modating foot passengers only. 




Night on the Palisades. 



Photograph by John P. Frittg. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



35 



ROADS OF THE PALISADES 




' ^i;]]!^ ALISADES roads are among the interesting fea- 

tures of the ridge. This is especially true of 
several old roads. One of the most picturesque 
of these zig-zags down the precipitous cliffs from 
the end of Palisade Avenue, Englewood Cliffs. 
There are few wilder mountain roads than this — 
known for many years as the old Englewood 
turnpike. It crosses and recrosses a stream which leaps in 
cascades to the river. On one side is a sheer wall of rock; the 
other overlooks an almost perpendicular declivity. At a point 
near the river the road forks, one branch extending southward 
to the old Englewood pier, the other, called UnderclifF Avenue, 
running northward to UnderclifF settlement. Another old road, 
now disused, winds down the cliffs at Huyler's Landing, while 
farther northward are the remains of the ancient road which 
led from Closter (now 
Alpine) Landing t o 
the cliffs, and over 
"which the British ar- 
mies were transported. 
The present road at 
Alpine accomplishes 
the ascent by far eas- 
ier grades. At Sne- 
den's Landing the old 
Rockland Road led 
down to the river. 
Its course was to the 
north and down a 
much steeper hill than 
the present highway. 
An almost continuous 
trip by road along the 

top of the ridge can 5^ „ 

1)8 made from Wee- '^'^-l-j* "^ \., 

liawken to Piermont. ^^^/^''^r^aft^* "'v ;,&iM 

Prom Weehawken to a Picturesque Old Highway of the Palisades. 





Photograph by John P. Fritts^ 
This Cool, Shady Path Invites the Tired City Dweller to Rest and Reflection. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



37 



Hudson Pleights, just below ClifFside, the magnificent Hudson 
County Boulevard follows the edge of the cliffs. From Cliffside 
to Fort Lee an excellent road runs some distance back of the 
crest. From Fort Lee to Alpine a macadam highway traverses 
the woodland a short distance from the cliff line, continuing 
from Alpine to Piermont, as an ordinary country road. 

In Revolutionary times a military road was constructed be- 
tween Sneden's Landing and Fort Lee, running for a few miles 
close to the cliffs. Traces of this road can yet be seen, espe- 
cially along the northern portion of its course. 






Summer and Winter Along the Old Englewood Turnpike. 




Photograph by John P. Fritts. 
Depth and Distance Are Typified in This View, from a Jutting Point Above Englewood Creek. 




The Palisades of the Hudson 39 



HOW THE PALISADES WERE SAVED 

^ELOW Fort Lee Point there is but little left of the 
wild beauty of former years. Here the band of 
man has reached out and scarred and destroyed 
the picturesqueness of the cHfFs. Huge factory 
chimneys rise against jagged quarries. Wretched 
Italian settlements are crowding out the old es- 
tates, and soon nothing of the old-time charms 
will remain. North of Fort Lee Bluff the ruthless dynamiter 
began to destroy the grandest portion of the ridge. The 
greater portion of old Indian Head was blown asunder to be 
metamorphosed into flats and skyscrapers in the neighboring 
city. The old trees were torn from their roots and the hacking 
and slashing threatened the entire ridge. Well might the old 
trees have exclaimed with Kipling as this work went on : 

"Children we are of the great god Pan 

Who marvel much by the river; 

How ruthless man can mar the plan 

Of the wise and bounteous giver. 

We hear afar the sounds of war 

As rocks they rend and shiver; 
They blast and mine and rudely scar 

The pleasant banks of the river." 

With increasing desecration of the cliffs public indignation 
grew stronger. Protests against the vandalism became more 
and more persistent. Various measures for halting the destruc- 
tion were proposed. Every movement and every public body 
that joined in an effort to save the Palisades helped to pave the 
wa}'^ for the actual accomplishment which has been achieved by 
the present Palisades Interstate Park Commission. The early 
attempts at preservation, the steps that led up to this efficient 
body, its organization, its methods and its future aims, all con- 
stitute a chapter in the history of scenic preservation of vital 
interest and significance. 

The first tangible plan toward protecting the Palisades was 
a proposal to induce the National Government to secure them 
for military purposes. Supporters of this idea induced the 
state Legislatures of New Jersey and New York to pass bills 



"40 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



authorizing the appointment of a commission to confer "for the 
acquisition of the Palisades by the United States." This com- 
mission consisted of three members from each state. The New 
Jersey commissioners were Henry D. Winton, Edward P. Meany 
and Charles B. Thurston. The New York representatives were 
Enoch C. Bell, Waldo G. Morse and J. James R. Croes. Ac- 
cordingly in 1895, under recommendation of the joint commis- 
sioners, legislation was introduced in each state ceding the face 
a,nd water frontage of the ridge to the United States for a "mili- 
tary fortification and reservation." The respective measures 
were signed by Governor George T. Werts, of New Jersey, and 
Governor Levi P. Morton, of New York, and submitted to the 
House Committee on military affairs in the Fifty-fourth Con- 
gress. The Palisades were obviously of little value for military 
purposes and the proposal was not accepted. Resubmitted in 
the Fifty-fifth Congress it met with similar fate. 



NEW JERSEY WOMEN TAKE A HAND. 

The outlook for preservation following these failures was 
discouraging. There seemed to be no plan or hope for future 
action. At this junc- 
ture the women of | 1 
New Jersey took up 
the work. With per- 
sistence and zeal the 
New Jersey State 
Federation of Wo- * 
men's Clubs began an 
active campaign. The 
first fruits of this 
movement were real- 
ized in the passage 
of a bill in 1899 by 
the New Jersey State 
Legislature empow- 
ering the Governor 
to appoint a commit- ! 
tee of five to "report 
upon the present con- 
dition of the Pali- 
sades and to suggest . 

some remedy or rem- Palisades at Coytesville. Ruthless Quarrymen Were 
^rli'oc fr. Tivoironf +>ifw Gouging Away the Face of the Cliff When Stopped 

edies to prevent tne Through the Efforts of Patriotic Citizens. 




The Palisades of the Hudson 



41 




Bare and Ghostly Trees Overlooking an Ice. 
Locked River. 



Palisades from defacement and depredation." Governor Foster 
M. Voorhees signed the enactment and named as members of the 
commission Miss Ehzabeth B. Vermilye, Cecilia Gaines Holland, 
Franklin W. Hopkins, William A. Linn and S. Wood McClave. 

In New York state interest in halting the vandalism was 
keen. Among the prominent 
friends of the Palisades in 
New York were Andrew H. 
Green, "Father of Greater 
New York," President of the 
American Scenic and His- 
t o r i c Preservation Society 
and Governor Theodore 
Roosevelt. The New York 
Legislature passed a bill sim- 
ilar to that enacted in New 
Jersey and Governor Roose- 
velt appointed as the New 
York committee at the sug- 
gestion of Mr. Green, Fred- 
erick W. Devoe, Frederick S. Lamb, George F. Kunz, Abraham 
G. Mills and Edward Payson Cone. 

Conferences covering nearly a year were held by both com- 
missions. A definite solution of the Palisades problem was de- 
cided upon. The committees recommended in their report to the 
respective state Legislatures that the first important step should 
be the passage of acts "constituting a permanent Interstate 
Palisades Park Commission with power to acquire and hold for 
each state whatever territory was necessary along the Palisades 
for an interstate park and thereby preserve the scenery of the 
Palisades — the intention being to form a continuous park along 
the entire front of the Palisades from Fort Lee, N. J., to Pier- 
mont, N. Y." Five members were to be appointed from each 
state. 

Legislation to this end was passed by the New York Legis- 
lature and approved by Governor Roosevelt March 22nd, 1900. 
A bill of similar purport was introduced in the New Jersey 
Legislature. It met with hostility. Within and without the 
Legislature influences were set in motion to kill the measure. 
Powerful opposition was exerted by the quarrying interests. A 



42 



The Palisades of the Hudson 




This Charming Footpath Runs Practically the Whole Length of (he Palisades Interstate Park. 



portion of the press gave evidence of being subsidized. Legis- 
lators themselves worked for its defeat. The friends of the 
proposed enactment maintained an unremitting fight, however, 
and finally by dint of tremendous effort and by yielding to un- 
important compromise in certain points, they carried the day. 
The bill was passed and approved by Governor Foster M. 
Voorhees. 

Thus was created the present Interstate Park Commission 
which has solved one by one the problems of saving the Palisades 
from destruction and converting them into a great pleasure 
ground of priceless value and transcending natural beauty. 
New Jersey's commissioners as appointed by Governor Voorhees 
were : Abram S. Hewitt, Edwin A. Stevens, Franklin W. Hop- 
kins, William A. Linn and Abram De Ronde. New York's ap- 
pointees were: George W. Perkins, J. DuPratt White, Ralph 
Trautmann, D. McNeely Stauffer and Nathan F. Barrett. 

The wise judgment shown in these appointments has been 
demonstrated, not only by the efficiency of the members, but also 
by the notable fact that their personnel has remained unchanged 
for upwards of a decade except that the death of two commis- 
sioners, Abram S. Hewitt and Ralph Trautmann have given 
place to William B. Dana and William H. Porter. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



43 




Palisades Interstate Park Patrol Boat. 

WORK OF INTERSTATE PARK 
COMMISSION 




HEN the Commission of the Palisades Interstate 
Park began its labors it had on hand appropria- 
tions of $5,000 from New Jersey and $10,000 
from New York. A complete and systematic sur- 
vey of the territory under jurisdiction was at once 
instituted as a foundation for their future work. 
New Jersey's entire appropriation was devoted to 
this undertaking. In the New Jersey frontage there were 147 
parcels held by 112 different owners. The survey was attended 
by unusual difficulties. Nothing better illustrates the wilder- 
ness character of this region than the difficulty which was ex- 
perienced in determining some of the property lines and the 
ownership of certain areas. There was much confusion in 
boundary lines and in some instances no transfer of titles had 
been made for generations. It was a work requiring a vast 
amount of patient investigation. In one instance, that of a 
parcel of an acre in size, it was necessary to send a deed convey- 
ing an undivided 1/240 interest twice to the state of Washing- 
ton before the document was properly executed. 

Once the commission's survey had been completed the vital 
work of preservation was taken up. At intervals along the 
Palisades quarrymen were cleaving huge masses from the cliffs. 
Probably the worst offender was a concern that was tearing an 
enormous gash in the rocks near Fort Lee Bluff. According to 
a statement published at that time 12,000 cubic yards of the 
Palisades were being blasted away each day at this quarry alone. 
To stop this and other blasting was the commission's task. It 
succeeded in securing an option on the property of this leading 
offender. The price asked for the property was $132,500, and 



44 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



$10,000 was required to secure the option. The commissioners 
still had New York's $10,000 appropriation, and they decided 
to use it in securing this option. The amount was paid in De- 
cember, 1900, and on Christmas Eve of that year blasting was 
stopped at this quarrj'^ — a memorable event in the history of 
Palisades preservation. 

The problem of raising the balance of $122,500 necessary 
to secure ownership of the property was then faced. The pros- 
pect was not encouraging. Further state aid was out of the 
question for the time being. Public .^ 

contributions formed the only other ^ 
alternative. The commission set 
about this laborious process of rais- 
ing the money. The commission's 
president, Mr. George W. Perkins, 
Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan's business 
partner, was one of the most ener- 
getic workers for funds. Mr. Per- 
kins presented the needs of the com- 
mission to Mr. Morgan and Mr. Mor- 
gan responded by contributing the 
entire amount needed, $122,500, thus 
enabling the commission to close title 
with the quarrymen. Other public 
men have contributed both money 
and property. Mr. Cleveland H. 
Dodge has given the commission 12 
acres, while Mr. George W. Perkins 
only recently has donated $12,000 towards the purchase of the 
remaining properties. 

No tablet has been placed upon the Palisades recording 
Mr. Morgan's magnificent gift, bestowed at the most critical 
of all periods in Palisades preservation, or commemorating gifts 
which have been made by others, of both land and money, but 
Mr. Morgan and the other men who have come to the aid of 
this vast scenic enterprise could crave no grander monument to 
their munificence than the great cliffs, that will tower above the 
river unmarred, for generations after the lives of these donors 
are but distant memories. 




A Bit of Shore Line. 



COMMISSION IN FULI, CONTROL. 



From this auspicious beginning the commission progressed 
steadily, securing quarry after quarry, until all were in its con- 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



45 



trol. State aid became more generous. In 1901 New Jersey 
appropriated $50,000 for the purchase of land and New York 
$400,000. By the end of 1903 at least 50% of the land had 
been acquired. The following table shows at a glance the yearly 



progress made 


by the 


commission in 


purchasing Palis£ 


frontage : 










Feet 




Cost of Land 


Year 


Frontage 


Acres 


and Improvements 


1901 


11,832 


122 


$178,210.62 


1902 


10,214 


131 


63,750.98 


1903 


10,377 


72 


38,352.90 


1904 


9,500 


112 


46,489.80 


1905 


4,605 


58 


43,530.33 


1906 


2,010 


25 


41,250.00 


1907 


343 


2 (homesteads) 17,500.00 


1908 


1,740 


29 


4,047.30 



1909 acquisition practically completed. 

The total cost of land, riparian rights and improvements 
up to June, 1909, has been $543,000. It is doubtful whether 
any public work has been ever conducted with more economy 
and efficiency. With its personnel representing men of large 
interests having exacting demands upon their time the members 
of the commission have devoted their energies to its business for 
a period of eight years. They have served without financial 
recompense. It is a fact notable in the annals of public service 
that the commission's actual running expenses during these 
eight years have not exceeded 3 per cent, of the total amount ex- 
pended in its undertakings. The territory under its jurisdic- 
tion, the probable cost of which had been freely estimated as high 
as $2,000,000, has been secured for about one-quarter of this 
amount. 

In fixing land values the commission divided the area into 
three sections. The first section, nearest New York City, was 
placed at $500 per acre; the second at $350 per acre and the 
third, farthest north, at $200 per acre. The commission ad- 
liered to these prices in buying the land and virtually the whole 
jurisdiction was acquired under this schedule of prices. 



A POLICY OF CONCILIATION. 



The commission's policy has been one of tact and concilia- 
tion. It has gone about its work quietly and skilfully. It has 
avoided disputes and made friends of enemies. Its power of 




Photograph by John P. Fritts» 



Where Cliffs Struggle Upward to Meet the Sky. The Great City Is Outlined in the 
Distance on the Opposite Shore. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



47 



condemnation has been invoked in only a few instances. It lias 
devoted nearly a decade to overcoming the innumerable diffi- 
culties connected with securing the property, but it has made 
sure and solid progress each year. 

The commission's work has been conducted so quietly, the 
contributions of its members and friends made so unostenta- 
tiously that the general public has had no idea of the magni- 
tude of its achievements. It is well, however, that the people 
of not only New Jersey and New York, but of the whole nation, 
should realize and appreciate the accomplishment of these 
earnest, self-sacrificing men. "Had these cliffs," said the 
Evening Post, "been left in the possession of private owners to 
be torn to pieces by blasts, divested of their covering of trees 
and lined by smoke-belching factories, this 'priceless possession* 
— the natural enhancement of our grandest river — would at no 
Tery distant period have been transformed into ragged stone 
heaps, offensive to the eye, with a value governed solely by the 
cubic foot price of trap rock." With preservation insured and 
the property under its control the commission will now concen- 
trate its energies upon the care and development of facilities 
for making it more accessible. 

A TOO- ACRE NATURAL PARK. 

The Palisades Interstate Park thus formed is one of the 
world's most remarkable territories set aside for natural preser- 
vation and public enjoyment. With its southern portion op- 
posite New York City it has fourteen miles of rocky shore 




A Typical Camp Colony Along ihe Palisades. 



48 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



frontage and fourteen miles of towering crags and cliff -topped 
woodland. The park begins at Fort Lee Bluff and extends 
northward along the Hudson River to Piermont Creek. It in- 
cludes the water rights, shore and face to the crest of the 
Palisades. Eleven and two hundredths miles, or 58,185 feet 
are in New Jersey; two and eighty-four hundredths miles, or 
14,995 feet are in New York. Seven hundred acres are in-^ 
eluded within its area. No long or tiresome journey is neces- 
sary to reach this matchless recreation region. No admission 
fees are exacted. All classes are welcome and the wealthy and 
the humble are represented among its visitors. 

In commemoration of the work for Palisades preservation 
accomplished by the Federation of Women's Clubs, of New Jer- 
se}!-, the commission has set aside a reservation upon a command- 
ing bluff upon which a suitable monument will be erected with 
funds contributed by their friends. 

Until a short time ago it was well-nigh impossible for a 
pedestrian to walk along the entire shore line of Palisades owing 
to the great masses of rocks here and 
there, and also because of the precipit- 
ous formations of the cliffs themselves, 
especially along the northern stretches. 
The commission has now completed a 
picturesque and continuous pathway 
along the shore. This path descends 
and scales the many gulches which 
notch the river bank. It twists be- 
tween huge boulders and skirts preci- 
pices. It penetrates the shadows of 
the virgin forest and traverses the 
beach. Its diversity and wildness will 
reward the nature lover who enjoys a 
long and vigorous walk. 



THE MECCA OF CAMPERS. 




One of Several Public Springs in 
the Palisades Interstate Park. 



The love of out-door life and the 
appreciation of nature which are de- 
veloping so rapidly into national traits have caused thousands 
of city dwellers, residents of both states, to seek the wilderness 
and beauty of the Palisades shore for camping purposes. Dur- 
ing the summer months little villages of tents dot the river's 
edge. The popularity of the Palisades as a camping resort is 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



49 




Numerous Canoe Clubs Make Their Outing Headquarters in the Interstate Park. 



shown by the rapid increase in the number of permits sought. 
Twenty-five were granted the first year, 221 the second year and 
395 the third year. Nearly 4,000 campers availed themselves 
of the advantages of the park last year, over Saturdays, Sun- 
days and holidays. 

The Palisades Park section is admirably situated for use 
as a military camping ground. The commission has recently 
granted permission to one company of the Seventy-first Regi- 
ment, N. G. N. Y. to erect its tents for a summer instruction 
camp. This illustrates but one of the many public uses to which 
the park area is being adapted. 

The commission has entire jurisdiction over the park lands. 
Since 1905 it has maintained a corps of marshals and a police 
patrol boat during the summer months. 

All campers are required to secure permits from the com- 
mission and the government of the tent colonies is placed to a 
certain extent directly in the hands of the campers themselves 
under an ingenious and successful code of regulations. It is a 
notable fact that it has not been necessary to make a single 
arrest among any of these campers, y The commission guards 
carefully from contamination the many springs whose waters 
gush from the rocks, an illustration of this watchfulness being 
shown in the accompanying pictures. 



50 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



PERSONNEL OF THE COMMISSION. 



The present personnel of the Commission of the Palisades 
Interstate Park of New York are: George W. Perkins, Presi- 
dent, Riverdale, New York City ; Franklin W. Hopkins, Vice- 
President, Alpine, N. J. ; J. Du Pratt White, Secretary, Nyack, 
N. Y. ; D. McNeely StaufFer, Treasurer, Yonkers, N. Y. ; Edwin 
A. Stevens, Hoboken, N. J. ; Nathan F. Barrett, New Rochelle, 
N. Y. ; Wilham A. Linn, Hackensack, N. J. ; Abram De Ronde, 
Englewood, N. J. ; William B. Dana, Englewood ChfFs, N. J. ; 
William H. Porter, New York City. 

The New Jersey commission is composed of the same ten 
members, and the officers of that commission are: Edwin A. 
Stevens, President ; D. McNeely Stauffer, Vice-President ; J. 
Du Pratt White, Secretary, and Abram De Ronde, Treasurer. 

The commission maintains an office at No. 31 Nassau 
Street, Borough of Manhattan, New York City, in charge of its 
Assistant Secretary, Leonard Hull Smith, where its maps,, 
records and reports are open to inspection. As will be seen, the 
two commissions are composed of the same ten members, five of 
whom are residents of New York, appointed by the Governor 
of that state, and five of whom are residents of New Jersey, ap- 
pointed by the Governor of that state. Each Governor ap- 
points his resident members and accepts the nominees of the 
other Governor. This custom of interstate appointment makes 
possible the scheme and intention of the statutes creating the 
Interstate Park, to establish one harmonious commission rep- 
resenting both states. 




A Wild Fern Field on the Palisades, Near Fort Lee 



The Palisades of the Hudson 51 




A PRISTINE WILDERNESS 

LMOST without interruption from Fort Lee Bluff 
to its northern end at the Piermont Valley, the 
eastern side, and much of the northern end of 
the Palisades Interstate Park remains a pristine 
wilderness. Here within actual sight of the north- 
ward-pushing city on the opposite island, is a 
little world of almost virgin nature, many parts 
of which have never been trodden by the foot of man owing to 
their inaccessibility. Over the fourteen miles from the old dock 
at Fort Lee to the northern end of the rocks, there are hardly 
more than a score of human habitations, not counting the colony 
of campers whose tents dot the river shore line at frequent in- 
tervals during the summer months. Of the folk living in the 
few permanent houses nearly all are a quaint fishing people, and 
old residents. 

IN nature's realm. 

At each season of the year the Palisades Interstate Park 
will "reward the nature lover with some particular charm. In 
the dreamy summer's afternoons with the distant headlands fad- 
ing gradually away in the blue haze, their lights and shadows 
are seen to greatest perfection. On a crisp winter's morning 
with every rocky pinnacle sparkling with frosty diamonds under 
the rays of the eastern sun, the towering cliifs present a spec- 
tacle of dazzling beauty. As each season brings a new mood, 
so each time of day changes the atmosphere of the scene. In 
the early summer's mornings the woods ring with many joyous 
bird voices and one is reminded of Bryant's lines in "A Scene 
on the Banks of the Hudson," written by the way, on the shore 
beneath the Palisades : 

"'Mid the dark rocks that watch his bed 
Glitters the mighty Hudson spread 
Unrippled, save by drops that fall 
From shrubs that fringe his mountain wall." 

Twilight settles early under the tall rocks, enshrouding 
with mystery each glen and rocky retreat. Night, especially 
if it be a winter's night, with ghostly patches of snow resting 



52 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



here and there in the niches of the dark crags, ice floes passing 
silently upon the tide below, and the only lights those twinkling 
from the opposite shore, presents a scene of unusual impres- 
siveness. 

Verdure, more or less dense, now climbs and clings to the 
rugged face of the Palisades from the river shore to varying 
heights toward the crest, in some cases even rising to the crest 
itself. Forming this vegetation, and in the midst of the state- 
ly forest that crowns the table-like top of the ridge are many 
varieties of trees. In May the dogwood and chestnut blossoms 

dot the delicate emerald 
leaves with white, in June the 
tulip trees unfold their 
snowy flowers, and in au- 
tumn all the trees join in a 
symphony of splendor, the 
red and yellow maples, crim- 
son sour gums, garnet sweet 
gums, bronze oaks and 
orange hickories, stretching 
in a broad band of color be- 
tween the blue river and the 
fleecy clouds. A little north 
of Englewood Creek is the 
"evergreen section," i n 
which spruce and pines pre- 
dominate. 

Between the trees that 
cleave to the battlements, 
and the flinty rocks them- 
selves, nature is encouraging 
a grim battle. The preci- 
pice stands unrelenting, re- 
pelling, defying, the trees rise, grasping, pushing, twisting and 
thrusting their tenuous roots into every crevice and ledge, ever 
mounting higher and higher toward the top, the gnarled oaks, 
sturdiest foemen of them all, gripping a foothold on the dizziest 
of the heights, and leading all the others upon the attack. So 
from year to year the warriors press upward covering more and 
more of the gray rocks with their ranks. 

Growing among the rocks and trees are many varieties of 
wild flowers. Among the first of the spring blossoms are those 




The Falls, Green's Brook, Near Alpine. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 53 

of the dainty wild violets, while later come the bluebells, wake- 
robins and the dandelions. With summer the Virginia creeper 
begins to twine lovingly about the tree trunks, the creeping 
wintergreen hides many boulders, the mountain laurel reaches 
maturity, mint perfumes the air, pitcher plants, primroses and 
"bright-eyed and bold" buttercups put on their gay attire. 
When the crisp October breezes rustle through the leaves the 
prim jacks in the pulpit put on their coats, the fringed gen- 
tians make a brave showing and the golden rod raises his 
"myriad glimmering plumes." 

This wild vegetation is tenanted with throngs of birds at 
all seasons. Now and then a bald eagle or a fish hawk can be 
seen soaring gracefully over the highest cliffs. At night the 
wild call of the hoot owl is often heard upon some lofty bough. 
The voices of the bob-whites, bluebirds, blue jays, wrens and 
woodpeckers are familiar among the trees. These are all 
among the permanent residents but there are numerous migrants 
who are drawn to the loveliness of the park's retreats. In No- 
vember come the white-winged gulls from the lower harbor, to 
remain until the warm spring sun tempts them seaward again. 
Among the other winter visitors are the ruby-crowned knight, 
the winter wren, the horning gull and the crow. Summer's 
charms entice hither the wood thrush, scarlet tanager, Balti- 
more oriole, hermit thrush and indigo bird, the mocking bird, 
yellow warbler, purple martin, sandpiper and other wanderers 
grave and gay. The ridge is the home of many foxes, their 
depredations upon hen roosts having caused the borough of 
Englewood Cliifs to offer a standing reward for their capture. 

Among the most delightful attractions of the Palisades 
Interstate Park are the crystal streams that bubble from the 
flinty rocks, and the little cascades that here and there tumble 
down mossy ravines. One of the most beautiful of these streams 
is that known as Green's Brook, which falls over successive 
rocky terraces under the dense foliage just below Alpine, en- 
tirely hidden from the river so long as the leaves are on the 
trees. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



55 



THE HENRY HUDSON DRIVE 




HE great development of the park lands towards 
which the commissioners of the Palisades Inter- 
state Park are now working is the construction 
of a driveway along the park's rock-hewn shore. 
Complete surveys for this road were made in 1903 
by Charles W. Leavitt, Jr., the eminent landscape 
engineer. Senator Edmund W. Wakelee, always 
a consistent friend and worker in the cause of the preservation 
of the Palisades, introduced a bill in the New Jersey Legisla- 
ture in February, 1909, empowering the commission to con- 
struct a driveway. Senator Howard R. Bayne introduced a 
similar bill in the New York Legislature. The New Jersey bill 
passed but without an appropriation, thus merely declaring the 
state's policy in favor of a driveway. The New York bill did 
not pass. While the result of this year's legislation is disap- 
pointing, yet the friends of this plan to develop the park by 
constructing a magnificent interstate driveway, are confident 
that it is only a question of time be- 
fore the states will realize the possi- 
bilities and needs of such a drive and 
appropriate the necessary funds to 
that end. 

For most of its distance the pro- 
posed drive will be cut and filled from 
the Palisades rock itself. It will 
curve gracefully around the head- 
lands and by easy grades it will dip 
or rise in order to avoid the mon- 
otony of conformity to the water 
level. At one point it will tunnel 
through solid rock two hundred feet 
above the riA'^er. When it reaches a 
point just south of Sneden's Land- 
ing the drive will rise easily and 
sweep westward through a depres- 




A Glimpse of Military Camp Life 
at Interstate Park. 



56 The Palisades of the Hudson 

sion at that point, connecting with the highway leading north- 
ward to the magnificent State Road through the highlands. 
The plans provide for a boulevard similar in construction to 
the world-famous roads traversing the Swiss Alps and equaling 
any other in picturesque location and beauty of view. 

Except for this magnificent driveway, and necessary water 
and land connections the commissioners will rigidly exclude arti- 
ficialism from the park. Its wild growths, its picturesque 
beauty will not be interfered with. The commissioners belong 
to the school of Walpole and Kent. They believe that the un- 
derlying principle of landscape art in the Park shall be a faith- 
ful preservation of nature's handiwork exhibited in such mar- 
velous diversity throughout the Palisades ridge. 



HOW TO REACH THE PALISADES INTERSTATE PARK 

The Palisades Interstate Park may be reached by several 
approaches. From New York City access may be had by the 
ferries of the West Shore Railroad from the foot of Franklin 
or West Forty-second streets to Weehawken, New Jersey, there 
connecting with direct trolley to Coytesville, a few moment's 
walk from the crest of the Palisades, A more attractive route, 
however, is provided by the West 130th Street Ferry (reached 
by Subway to Manhattan Street or upper Broadway surface 
cars and 125th Street crosstown cars) to Edgewater, New Jer- 
sey, thence by trolley to Main Street, Fort Lee, a short distance 
from the cliffs, or by foot from the Edgewater ferry house 
northward along the River Road, one and one-quarter miles, to 
the Park's southern boundary, thence by path the entire length 
of the reservation. From the foot of Dyckman Street (Subway 
to Dyckman Street Station), a motor-boat ferry is operated 
during the summer months to the old Englewood pier. From 
Yonkers a steam ferry yacht plies to Alpine and from Dobbs 
Ferry a motor-boat ferry runs across the river to Sneden's 
Landing. From New Jersey the Park may be reached by sev- 
eral roads leading up the western slope, also by the wagon road 
traversing the backbone of the ridge. 



The Palisades of the Hudson 



57 




Reproduced from an Old Print, Now in Possession of the Palisades Interstate Park Com- 
mission, After a Painting by W. G. Wall. 



THE PALISADOES 



The followingr quaint description accompanies the picture reproduced above : 

The Palisadoes consist of a line of rugged and perpendicular bluffs, which at a few 
miles distance from the city of New York, margin for a considerable distance and over- 
look the bed of the Hudson river. To the eye of the traveller, rising in savage grandeur, 
and stretching their tree-crowned summits far as the vision can compass, these rocks are 
too prominent a feature in the scenery of the Hudson to be overlooked. The shore, 
throughout the whole extent of these bluffs, is abrupt, and the water sufficiently deep to 
allow vessels, even of considerable burthen, to approach within a short distance; and, 
when sailing close along the shore, the view of these steep and peculiar acclivities is 
peculiarly grand and imposing. Into every crevice of the rocks vegetation has insinuated 
itself, and wreaths of verdure seem to hang from every jutting point and projecting ledge. 
Oak, hickory, chestnut, butternut, and maple, are to be found among the trees which 
adorn the summit of the Palisadoes, and grow to a magnitude which would scarcely be 
credited by those who have no other opportunity of viewing them, except from the deck 
of a vessel. Considerable quantities of wood are annually cut from this abundant source, 
and being plunged down the precipice, are easily thrown into the vessels which lie close 
under the shore, and conveyed to a ready and profitable market. 

The height of these bluffs is various, rising from 400 to 800 feet, exhibiting, in every 
interval of verdure, steep and solid masses of stupendous stone, and presenting here and 
there deep cavities, where the eagle builds his nest among the cliffs, secure from the 
reach of human enmity. From the quarries at the foot of these rocks, inexhaustible sup- 
plies of stone are transported to the city; and the scanty cottages and other buildings 
which are scattered along the shore, present a singular contrast to the stupendous edifices 
of nature, which overtop them, and seem to threaten them with continual destruction. 

Ranging along the west bank of the Hudson, this singular line of precipice forms a 
striking contrast with the gradual, fertile, and cultivated scenery of the opposite shore. 
On the eastern margin of the river, the eye is gratified by the appearance of villas and 
seats, laid out with taste, and lifting themselves to the view, amidst a verdant and culti- 
vated landscape; while on the west, the interval between the bluffs and the river is so 
narrow, as scarcely in any instance to admit of tillage, except indeed where the industry 
of the cottager has succeeded in extorting from the reluctant soil some pittance toward the 
:supply of his daily wants. 

The bold and rocky middleground of the picture is peculiarly characteristic of the 
scene, and the thinness and liquid transparency of the water along the shore are 
jnimitable. 



58 The Palisades of the Hudson 



®ij^ Palt0ah^0 — An Apprmattan 

By Van" Deauing Perrixe^ "The Paixter of the Palisades/' 

In the minds of the unimaginative the Palisades will always 
suffer hy comparison. They are of not nearly so great a 
height or bulk, neither are they composed of so great a variety 
of forms, as any number of places familiar to the tourist of 
today. Yet they have a character all their own — too subtle to 
be grasped by the idle beholder of an hour. Their beauty must 
be lived with before one may be elevated into a response to their 
loftiest spell. And then what a playground they really become 
for the imagination, and with what solemn fitness they frame 
the stars! 

One may sit at night and watch the lights come out on the 
opposite shore, a tiny thread of gems. Plucking a leaf and 
holding its stem at arm's length would blot from the eye a point 
where exists a greater human activity than anywhere else upon 
our planet today. Yet what a mere moment has been the ex- 
istence of this new world metropolis when compared with these 
time-scarred rocks. For countless ages storms have spent their 
fury cutting and grinding hieroglyphics there. But even as 
we contemplate their age our minds are drawn beyond their 
blackened rim to where bygone abysmal fires, on another night, 
dimly o'erflecked a duskier sky. Beyond that mask of smoky 
fdament what suns unknown to us are lost! 

We look again at the ledge and wonder that we should ever 
have thought it great or old. Others perhaps will come and will 
gaze upon these self-same rocks and stars, and though like our- 
selves they should never have an answer for humanity, may not 
the questioners have contributed richly, by the widening of their 
own sense, to the Mystery? 



^^"H^ss.^ 



■i - 



i i 



m li^ 



f-r 



^i 






'T X^T T! 



•^fC^ ^//' />^ 



^// 




■iJ lo q^m. ooi.- - Dai; cjuui 



illA 




Altitude and Location Map of the Palisades Region from Bergen Point to Piermont 




H 



i U; 



T 



>\ ■s'. 




:^. 





■^-•^it 



ir / 










1> °''Vl^^^?>"' ''i^* > ' 




















%/. ° " ° A*^ <9- 

^\/ %^^^^;/ V--'\'v" "^'-^^*^^\^^ 















'0^ 



^/ 



^^-n.^ '.^ 








A 9^ 















"^•i" 

^*'"-%. 



v° o*'"-'^ •^' /°-. -.^«° *°-''^- ■ " 



V'^'/ '^*,*^-\/ "''^'•^•/ 



